June 28 [1859 and 1861]

Eliza Williamsmade sporadic journal entries during June 1861. On [Sun.] June 28th, 1861, Eliza wrote: “This morning it was blowing a gale. Quite early, they raised a whale but it was too rugged to lower for him. We kept run of him all day, tacking whenever he altered his course. He did not go far either way. Toward night, the wind seemed to lull a little and the water seemed a little smoother. My husband thought there might be a chance of getting him and lowered his boat, taking the mate with him. The second mate then lowered. I felt uneasy and went on deck to see how the weather was; I found that the wind was blowing bad and the sea very rough. The frail boats looked like specks as they rose on the top of a large wave and then disappeared behind another large one, The boats got quite handy to the whale but soon returned to the ship, for it was of no use to strike [harpoon] him when it was so rugged and the wind had begun to increase. The whale is still in sight and we shall try to keep run of him till dark, and we are in hopes of seeing him tomorrow.”

Mary Lawrence, [Tues.] June 28 [1859]: “Had a strong breeze through the night; more moderate today. All the strong breezes come from just the way that we wish to go, so that we do not make much [distance/headway].”

Mary Brewster’s journal for her voyage from 1845 – 1848 ended on March 8, 1848 when the Tiger arrived home (Stonington, CT). Mary and her husband, Samuel did not return to sea for their last voyage until June 1848. However, Mary’s journal-writing did not resume until July 13, 1848. Therefore, Mary Brewster’s entries will resume on this blog starting July 13, 2013.